Northern Girls Paint Out Arley Hall & Gardens
Northern Girls art collective from left: Ginny McDermott, Al Stafford, Allie Pottinger, Kate Fawcett, Zelda Pickup and Di Metcalfe
It was the most glorious day, and we were lucky because the rest of the week was to give the gardens at Arley the much needed watering after the warmest Spring on record! With the invitation to come along and paint with us open to other artists, we were thrilled to see some familiar faces, and really pleased to meet some new friends too.
If you have painted in situ before you may be familiar with the overwhelm. That is, knowing what to focus on when there is so much inspiration all around! Also Arley is vast and with some wanting to paint the floral aspects, I plumped for woodland and pitched up my easel and set about painting a charming pathway that led through the trees to a beautiful pale pink Rhododendron. I soon discovered that I had forgotten to add a Cadmium Yellow to my kit - or any yellow at all for that matter! Being the resourceful girl that I am I set about trying to get a selection of greens using an insipid Pistachio Green and one that I didn’t even know I had, a bright Leaf Green. Toned down with a touch of Opera Rose (my favourite Pink) it worked out ok…well maybe you should be the judge of that! Note the authentic hair!
Quick fire acrylic ‘sketch’ at Arley Hall and Gardens, Cheshire
I downed tools when the midges had had their fill of my legs and I packed up to meet everyone for lunch.
The best thing about painting with others is that you get to find out their tips and tricks and we exchanged ideas about the best easels and pochades. My kit is all quite old and I confess to being a bit rusty when it comes to hardcore Plein Air. I am more of a fair weather girl so my kit is quite basic. That said it works for me and I am more than happy to share my tips and favourite items!
My Plein Air Kit for Painting in Acrylics
Acrylic paint in a range of cool and warm primary colours (including Cadmium Yellow (!), Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red, Alizarin Crimson,Ultramarine Blue, Pthalo Blue, Titanium White, Opera Rose! and Burnt Sienna.
Canvas Board in 12x9" and 12x12" (which fits in the pochade box)
Stay Wet Palette ( an old plastic meat tray lined with damp kitchen roll and white greaseproof/baking paper)
Range of brushes including a 1" decorators brush Cocktail stick and sponge for mark makingPalette knifeBottle of waterSelection of Oil pastelsPencils, eraser, sharpener, charcoal
Water Sprayer (cheap from garden centres or supermarkets)Kitchen Roll!Dog poo bag for any rubbish
I use a wooden pochade box from Jacksons which I screwed a mount bracket onto so that it can be attached to my tripod . It is easy to set up and more importantly isn't too heavy to carry around!
I also have a back pack by Gerstaecker that I have used for years which has an inbuilt stool which is really handy!
If you prefer to paint or sketch in company then keep an eye out for upcoming Paint Outs. We plan to have more in the year and my solo Sketch In The Park at West Park, Macclesfield is geared to encouraging people to have a go, and really look at their surroundings.
Tickets for that event can be purchased HERE
